"CHKD is such a unique environment of physicians and peers from all over the country. It coincides with the international feel from the NATO families in the area, as well as the transitional families in the military. When you come to CHKD, there is no sense of being an outsider. We welcome you with open arms from the first day."

While at the University of California, Berkeley, Dr. Hughes was invited to try out for the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team in crew.

During the years between her undergraduate and graduate training, she dedicated two years in the Peace Corps, teaching health and physical education to secondary school children. She followed that with research in biochemistry at a pharmaceutical company while an interpreter at Yale New Haven Hospital.

She then discovered her love for taking care of patients, and dedicated her life to medicine. At New York College of Osteopathic Medicine, she dedicated an extra year at medical school and became a fellow in osteopathic manipulative medicine.

Her outside interests include singing, windsurfing, triathlons, and her family.